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Bass
Common Names:
Black bass, bigmouth
Best Fishing: Lakes:
Anna, Gaston, Buggs Island, Chickahominy, Chesdin, Smith Mountain,
Prince, Briery Creek, Western Branch and Flannagan. Rivers:
James (below the fall line) and most coastal or piedmont rivers and
streams.
Fishing
Techniques: Fly, medium spincasting, spinning or baitcasting
rods and reels can all be used. Plastic worms and other plastic
imitations, crankbaits, spinner baits, surface lures, jigs and other
lures imitating minnows, crayfish, frogs, salamanders and
nightcrawlers. For flyrodders, streamer flies, bucktails and large
poppers. Live bait includes small bluegills, minnows of many kinds,
crayfish, nightcrawlers, frogs, etc.
Identification:
Sunfish family. Basically dark greenish above fading to a
whitish belly, but variable depending on the water it lives in.
Shows a series of dark blotches that form a dark horizontal band
along its midline to its tail. Named because of its big mouth. Upper
jaw extends well beyond the eye. Dorsal fin deeply notched. Average
weight is 2 to 4 pounds, with up to 10 pounds common. State
Record: 16 pounds, 4 ounces from Conner Lake in Halifax County.
Feeding Habits:
An opportunistic feeder, it eats other fish, frogs, crayfish,
tadpoles, aquatic and terrestrial insects, small rodents, snakes and
ducklings.
Habitat:
Native to southeastern Virginia, but introduced statewide.
Inhabits warm, shallow lakes, ponds and slow-moving streams, with
plenty of submerged vegetation, brush, stumps and logs, usually in
depths of less than 20 feet. It prefers temperatures of 68 to 78
degrees F. Has adapted well to large reservoirs where it orients to
drop-offs, ledges, underwater islands, sunken timber, boat houses,
docks and bridges.
Spawning Habits:
Spawns in late April to early June as water warms to between 62
and 78 degrees F. Male fans out a saucer-shaped nest along a
protected shoreline area of gravel, sand or mud. Following spawning,
the females leave the nests and the males remain to guard the eggs
and the fry for a time. |
